Law & Order BGPD: November edition

Another month and another collection of items from the police report that make me wonder what some people are thinking.

These are their stories.

You’re kidding, right?

Complainant stated that the driver of a vehicle behind her honked his horn for her to turn, then pulled next to her and gave her the middle finger. Officer spoke with the other driver who stated that his horn does not work and that he pulled next to her to let her know it was someone else. 

Put the kid to work…

Resident stated that he spoke with his upstairs neighbor about the excessive noise the two year old child makes. When the resident returned to his apartment, the upstairs neighbor stomped on the floor, causing the glass globe from the kitchen light to fall and break. Officer spoke with the neighbor who denied stomping on the floor and complained of the resident yelling at her through the walls. Both were referred to the home owner’s association. 

Well, so much for this friends list…

When the resident checked her son’s Facebook account, she found an inappropriate message from an unknown subject. The resident has canceled the account.

Help wanted:  Intelligent Human Resources Person

Company official reported that a terminated employee has not returned a company vehicle and miscellaneous office items, as requested. Officer contacted the terminated employee and she stated that the vehicle and items will be returned the following day. 

Bet it wasn’t Bert Weinman, Your TV Ford man…

Resident reported that he purchased a truck on eBay Motors. He wire transferred $24,000.00  to the seller, and has not seen the truck or seller since. 

The rain is Tess, the fire’s Joe, but They Call the Grill Mariah…

Resident reported that someone unknown pushed her gas grill over on her patio. After examining the grill, the officer found a broken wheel and believes that the high winds may have been the cause. 

Trash talking...

Driver stated that she stopped her car to pick up a bag of garbage that was lying in the roadway. When she placed the bag on the curb, a resident came out and threw the bag of garbage back at the driver, striking her in the chest with the bag. The resident was charged with disorderly conduct. 

Imagine that – they were not texting…

Resident reported two male subjects sitting in a car that has been parked on the street for the past ninety minutes. Officer spoke with the occupants, one being a resident on the street the other his girlfriend. They were talking. 

Love is a mighty confusing thing…

Resident reported receiving a text message stating “I want you back”. The resident sent a message back stating that you must have the wrong number. Since then, the resident has received three voice messages from a woman asking if the resident is cheating with her boyfriend. The resident has advised the caller to stop calling. 

With friends like this...

Resident reported that someone opened an account on Sexyjobs.com and used her picture and cell phone number. She has been getting calls and text messages from unknown persons. The resident will contact the web site and request the account be closed

Talk about the cold shoulder...

Resident paid an acquaintance $3,600.00 for the installation of a new furnace. The check was cashed but the acquaintance never showed to make the installation. The resident and his sons have been attempting to contact the acquaintance and when one of the sons spoke with him he threatened bodily harm if they did not stop calling. Officer spoke with the acquaintance who denied making a threat and stated that he cashed the check to order the furnace. 

Turkeys pardoned?  Oh, this was not about the Village Board...

President Obama pardoned two Turkeys last week and spared them from Thanksgiving dinner. No such pardon came at my home and dinner was great. Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. (Yes, this was part of the Police Log)

The turkey reminded me...

I couldn’t help but think of the Village Board as I cooked the turkey on Thanksgiving.

It’s nothing personal, mind you, just a connection that during the recent past that thinking of a turkey often connects to some of the antics by Board Members – both past and present – but mostly past.

The irony of it is the fact that the annual stuff-cook-eat turkey celebration comes within a week of an appellate court’s ruling that the identity of the now infamous “Hipcheck16” does not have to be revealed.

Turkeys aside, and you can read into that as much as you want, it’s a continuation of the “look at me – I’m always right and everyone is wrong” campaign by former trustee Lisa Stone.  In the past year I have mentioned Stone’s name only a smattering of time.  Her reign as a Village Board member came to a halt with the recall vote last November.

However, she continues her pursuit of her pet projects – the Land & Lakes landfill issue and the ongoing about who Hipcheck16 is.  That’s fine.  Everyone has his or her own pet projects and we know that Stone is passionate – obsessive if you will about Land & Lakes – even though she ignored it when she lived near the site.

The Hipcheck 16 issue is a different story.  It is, in some ways, a classic example of how folks who put themselves in the public eye don’t get it. 

When someone runs for public offices, accepts a high profile position, such as a school administrator or coach, their lives become an open book, whether they like it or not.  Lisa Stone is not the first public figure whose family has been brought into the public eye.  Former governor Jim Thompson had to deal with issues related to his wife, Sarah Palin’s daughter was in the limelight and comments about the wife of the late Edmund Muskie ultimately led him to dropping out of the presidential race.  These are just a few examples.

Public figures are not perfect and while some think their status puts them on a pedestal and makes them immune to such comments – they wrong.  Several clichés come to mind – if you can’t stand the heat, get of the kitchen and you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

The sword can be a vicious weapon – especially the written, verbal, or now, the online sword.  Stone did what any parent would do – defend a child.  Where she has tripped over her public figure ego is by not realizing that she, in turn, is playing the same game.  She claims Hipcheck16 defamed her son, yet she sees nothing wrong with comments made about former Village Manager Bill Brimm and, more recently, false insinuations that Village Board member Jeff Berman is connected to Hipcheck16.

She has done this through the very forum that she is upset about --- online comments via a media website.

Comments posted in media online editions are, if nothing else, a source of entertainment.  They are also an increasing source of irritation for media outlets.  Why?  Unlike letters to the editors, which many publications verify by phone, online comments are, for the most part, an open forum.  Actually, because of terms of service agreements, they are a limited open forum, which gives the media outlet the opportunity to keep objectionable comments from appearing.

What is missing, however, is verification as to who is the real person.  As noted by one poster, ectrip8 noted in a recent Daily Herald comment,  “Your son was using a screenname, (sic) not his real name. Furthermore, just because he claimed to be your son before commenting does not mean that he revealed who he was. There is no way for someone to verify who anyone is on these boards. You may not be the real LS, just as if I claim on here to be Barack Obama or Mitt Romney doesn't automatically make it so.”

Former Bears coach Mike Ditka once said that only two kinds of people live in the past – losers and cowards.  We learn from the past, whether we like what happened or not.  This does not apply just to Stone, but to any and everyone. 

However, I am not sure Stone realizes this as she includes numerous links about her performance as a Village Board member in her comments on the Daily Herald’s online edition.

Yet she missed one. http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20101102/news/711039808/

Law & Order: BGPD

 "In Buffalo Grove's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the men and women of the Buffalo Grove Police Department. These are their stories." 

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Resident reported finding smudges on the outside of her patio door as though someone may have been peering into the house. When the evidence technician went to the residence the son told him that the smudges were from him playing with the dog. 

-- Are we to think the kid is a pain in the glass?

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Complainant approached a neighbor and asked if he was the one that swore and yelled at her son because he was riding a scooter in the street. The neighbor denied doing so but said the next time he would hit her son. Officer spoke with the neighbor who stated that he did yell because the boy was blocking him from getting out of his driveway. 

-- "Won't you be my neighbor..."

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Ex boyfriend showed up at the company to recover a vehicle given to the ex girlfriend as a loaner. Officer spoke with the ex girlfriend and found that the girlfriend’s name was on the title to the car. Officer advised the boyfriend that this is a civil matter and to leave

-- Details, details, details..

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Human Resources Director requested that officers standby while an employee was terminated. The employee did not show up for work. 

-- Well, there goes that reference

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Conductor reported a suspicious suitcase on the train platform. Officer located a green bag containing a Halloween costume. The bag was placed into property at the police station. 

--  Must have made the old jailhouse rock

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Son met with an officer and stated that he was concerned about his mother’s well being. The son had been knocking on the door and calling without a response. Entry was gained into the unit and found mom to be OK. She stated that she was scared and did not realize it was her son knocking on the door. 

-- Hello, mom?  But he's such a nice boy.

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Resident reported receiving text messages from a person whom she believes to be her ex husband’s girlfriend. Officer contacted the girlfriend who denied any involvement in sending the messages. 

-- So if she calms down, does that means she's ex lax?

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Resident reported that someone unknown removed two skeletons, one ghost, and a large monster from the yard Halloween display. Several other ghouls and goblins were damaged. 

-- At first glance I thought this was about a Village Board meeting.

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Complainant reported a male subject looking into the windows of a residence. The subject and his vehicle were gone when officers arrived. The resident stated that she is renting the house and the landlord often times comes by unannounced. Officer attempted to contact the landlord and left a message. The resident stated that she has had numerous problems with the landlord and will be moving out. 

--  So that's what it meant when the ad said "custom window treatments."

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Resident reported that his estranged wife hacked into his personal computer, installed an external hard drive, and then copied the computer’s hard drive. The resident found the external hard drive by chance and is keeping possession of it. 

-- He probably needed tech support  more than child support.

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Resident from the 200 block of Hiawatha Drive stated that a large grey cat has been hanging around his back yard. The cat has no collar or chip and was taken to Kings Kennel. 

-- Another frolicking feline

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And finally,

Complainant reported a subject in a white mask dancing at the intersection. Officers located a subject that was performing his pantomime. He was advised that some residents apparently find mimes disconcerting and he agreed to go home. 

-- Guess he should have mimed his own business...

Officers of the Buffalo Grove Police Department handled 1361 incidents and crimes and 129 crashes during the month of October 2011.

And the Oscar goes to....

Not long ago, I had dinner with some friends who spent time talking about, among other things, where they live.

During the course of the evening, one said that the problem with Buffalo Grove is that there are no good restaurants in the village, the village let Lincolnshire grab the cinemas and also let the car dealers get away.

 

As Yogi Berra would say, it's déjà vue all over again.

The fact that the village does not have any good restaurants is not the fault of the village.  Granted, it has tight standards for building appearance or signage, but there is not, as far as I know, a Village Culinary Commission.  If you look at the car dealers in question; the Saturn, Toyota and Chrysler dealerships on Dundee Road only one, Arlington Toyota, chose to move out of the village.  The other two were closed by the year respective corporations; Saturn by G.M. and Chrysler by Chrysler.

The mere fact that Lincolnshire incorporated much of the area b y Aptakisic Road and Milwaukee Avenue was the result of a voluntary annexation by the property owner who, my sources tell me, needed to annex to Lincolnshire to get utilities because of a previous action.

What my dining companion did not realize, of if he did, he chose to ignore it, is the fact that the village continues to be in seemingly excellent financial shape despite the struggling economy.  It has endured reduced sales taxes, shrinking property taxes and excessive legal bills to resolve frivolous lawsuits and actions by folks who want to do little more than make a name for themselves. Through it all, the village has Triple AAA credit ratings from both Standard and Poors and Moody's.

Not too shabby.

While the economy continues to flounder, there is a ray of optimism that the village fiscal solvency will continue. It's the things movies can be made of.

The Nov. 21 Village Board meeting was highlighted by a two-hour presentation of the 2012 budget. Let's face it, budget presentations rank right up there with watching paint dry, watching 2011 Cubs highlights or reruns of McHale's Navy. This one, however, was deserving of an Oscar.

That's not my opinion.  All you need to do is listen to Village Board member Beverly Sussman who said "it is the best budget I have ever read in 30 years..it is the Academy Awards of budgets."

She may be on to something.  Aside from klieg lights heralding the event, it seemed like every department brought out its key staff, most of who were in dress attire.  It's the first time that the Police Department had more officers in attendance wearing dress uniforms than the Fire Department.

Before cynics cry foul, all they need to do is review the budget, all 306 pages of it, from the village's web site.  It is, from my non fiscal eyes, well presented and clearly written.  It seems to make sense.

The focal point of the budget is the use of four domains for each department.  They are: Strategy, Efficiency  Culture and Technology.  Budget goals and objectives addressed each category.

And yes, economic development in key areas, specifically the Dundee Road and Milwaukee Avenue corridors.  While there may be some faults with the 2012 budget because nothing is nothing is perfect, it is well scripted.

Worthy of an Academy Award?  Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I like the Hollywood theme Sussman  has given to the process.

Who knows, maybe it will spur some creative new businesses -- for example, how about a movie-themed bicycle shop.

How about calling it "Gone with the Schwinn".